Mixed delivery systems increase efficiency and promote successful outcomes for students from PreK through K12 by aligning community-based organizations, public school systems and programs, and city-wide initiatives. Almost every state in the U.S. uses some type of mixed delivery system.
Real-World Experience
Dr. Carla Bryant has over thirty years of national experience creating culturally competent policies, programs, and procedures for comprehensive early learning, P–3, elementary, family support, and after-school programs. She is the creator and Executive Director of the Center for District Innovation and Leadership in Early Education, part of Cultivate Learning at the University of Washington.
DIAL EE offers a fellowship program to support early education leaders in local education agencies to integrate multiple initiatives and resources for an aligned and comprehensive early education strategy. Emily Grunt is a member of the 2022–2024 Dial EE Fellowship cohort.
Emily spoke with Dr. Bryant to learn more about her real-world experience with developing and supporting mixed delivery instruction opportunities. This is part 2 of a two-part interview.
Inclusion
How is inclusion brought to the forefront in a mixed delivery programming and early ed strategy?
A mixed delivery system is probably one of the best answers for how to address the issue of inclusion. We just talked about the multiple placement possibilities for a child over a nine-hour day or over a whole year. The same possibilities are there when we consider inclusion.
A child with an IEP or IFSP needs to be placed in the best and least restrictive environment for their needs at a particular time and for a particular service. There are occasions where it makes sense that a child is in a setting made up solely of children with an IEP, but that is only for that one particular time.
In a mixed delivery system that may be a three-hour period, but there are six more hours where they could be with more typically developing children. So there are opportunities for us to provide services they need while including time with other children that are typically developing. The opportunity for all of these children to be with each other is good for everyone.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that children need to be in the best and least restrictive environment that meets their needs. And this is not unusual—children from affluent families have always been able to access these opportunities. We’re working with districts to create a system and early ed strategy that gives every child the best services and the best placement that meets their needs.
A mixed delivery system is probably one of the best answers for how to address the issue of inclusion.
Many kids are in daycare from 7:00AM to 6:00PM because their parents work long hours or hold multiple jobs. What do you say to people who want a half-day kindergarten? To those who say nine hours—or even six hours—is too long of a school day?
I say we’re not here to make decisions for individual children. We’re going to provide services and opportunities at a minimum of nine hours for every child and family who needs them.
That’s what we’re striving for. There may be other systems out there thinking through what it means to provide services for longer periods because of their community’s needs. We’re saying we’re going to provide the nine. On special occasions, we will provide even more when there’s a particular community need.
A Four-Level Continuum
What are some of the steps to success for getting a mixed delivery system in place, given that every community is different and should be valued in that way?
We have started to develop a four-level continuum. We use levels as a way of showing people how they can provide services to get to a comprehensive nine-hour, whole day, whole year, inclusive equitable system.
Level one starts with the basics. In California we begin with TK or transitional kindergarten, the first part of a two-year kindergarten program. Other places may call this Pre-K.
We figure out what it will take to make that solid. We consider alignments and what different services we need to create that nine-hour day for this one grade. Then, we ask the community to talk to us so we can learn.
The second level is finding out who serves preschools by asking the districts to survey service providers around the schools and partnering with them.
By figuring out how we can align some things, professional development, for instance, we slowly build the idea of a community school.
One Example
Here’s an example: when I was in SFUSD (San Francisco Unified School District), I formed a partnership with a Head Start called Kai Ming, which served a large percentage of our Asian population.
They have an amazing director, Dr. Jerry Yang, who told me; “You know what? We serve our community better than the district does”.
I said, “Tell me about it. Teach me what you’re doing and not doing so we can learn”. We were not in competition with each other, though it seems like we would have been. He taught me about his community so we could better provide services when they entered the district. There was reciprocity in me honoring what he had to offer before I started giving him what I thought I had, that I thought he needed.
And it was amazing. So that’s the second level. Building relationships, doing the work of finding out who is out there.
Levels Three and Four
The third level of this continuum expands past Pre-K, and TK to kindergarten and first grade. Finding key system alignments such as professional development, assessment, after-school programs, extended services, whatever is driven by the demands of the community.
The fourth level is to create some governance structures for sustainability. This is the trickiest part. Not only do you create this governance process, but it’s created in such a way that allows flexibility and fluidity. Anytime you build a system that is based on a person, that system does not sustain itself when the person leaves. It doesn’t make changes.
As a community we’re creating a continuum with a clear, driven, structured process with the flexibility to be vigilant around the data and how to use it holistically as a community.
We’re considering the child’s environment, their community, and this six to potentially nine-hour day. How do we create a comprehensive early ed strategy that helps them navigate their world? One that is driven by their needs, rather than the needs of the adults in their life?
It’s important that we start with the first level of this work, mastering that one grade. We’re back to gathering information. Where are the kids going? Are they staying at the school? Or, are they going to another site? Are they coming to the school? And then we bring it back to that small governance structure and how adults are communicating across these different time spans.
An Adult Issue
I think it’s worth mentioning that we are not in competition to create outcomes for our children’s success. Whether it’s a need for enrollment or a feeling of responsibility for “our kids”, sometimes it seems we are fighting over our children when setting up their day. But through gathering information and going through the levels to create a mixed delivery system, it seems possible to break down some of that competition.
This comes up a lot. I’m constantly saying everyone needs to step back.
The various entities like Head Start and districts need to consider how to best provide a full-day service. How to leverage resources to serve the child on a deeper level. That again, requires building context and understanding. All four levels are about building levels of understanding with your community.
I would say, let’s remove the competition and instead talk about how we can leverage our resources to do more work together. This is an adult issue.
We’re used to running programs the way we want to run them. We could probably still do that but instead let’s figure out how we can better serve children and families. To provide a real, continuous, aligned, nine-hour-a-day opportunity, at a minimum.
Carla, thank you so much for spending this time to describe your experience and illustrate how well-positioned we are to change the conversation.
Read Part 1 of Mixed Delivery Systems In Early Childhood
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